Charges against football players dismissed
Charges of misdemeanor battery against Georgia offensive linemen Trinton Sturdivant and Justin Anderson were dismissed in Clarke County State Court on Friday, according to their attorney, Mark Wiggins.

Drug sweep nets pocketful of rocks
A group of officers early Friday converged on a drug-plagued apartment complex near downtown and arrested a man who had a dozen rocks of crack cocaine, Athens-Clarke police said.

28 students treated after buses collide
Twenty-eight students were treated Wednesday for minor injuries when an Oglethorpe County school bus ran into the back of a second school bus in Crawford, according to the Washington post of the Georgia State Patrol.

Man leads police on chase, is arrested
A man sped away when officers tried to stop his car near downtown Wednesday night, crashed and was arrested after officers found that he had cocaine, Athens-Clarke police said.

Pedestrian allegedly carried bags of dope
An officer patrolling North Lumpkin Street early Friday saw a man he knew was wanted, then found the man was carrying six bags of pot and a large amount of cash, Athens-Clarke police said.

Victim spots thief entering his car
A man in the 200 block North Bluff Road called 911 about 2:40 a.m. Thursday to report a man was rummaging through his car, and officers soon found the man with items that were stolen from four vehicles on the same street, Athens-Clarke police said.

Thief, accomplice fingered by neighbor
A man who lives on Spring Court called 911 early Friday to report a man was breaking into a neighbor's car, and officers quickly arrived to arrest the thief and his alleged lookout, Athens-Clarke police said.

Helpful student ends up beaten
A University of Georgia student intervened in what he thought was a domestic dispute downtown early Friday, then was beaten by a group of men, Athens-Clarke police said.

Electronics taken from student's home
A University of Georgia student's home in the 200 block of Acadia Drive was burglarized between 5 and 10:10 p.m. Thursday, and a laptop computer, video game equipment, a monitor and a watch with a total value of $3,460 were stolen, Athens-Clarke police said.

Office burgled in overnight break-in
A thief may have hidden in a rest room in an office building at 2500 Atlanta Highway Tuesday night and burglarized one office after the building closed for the day, Athens-Clarke police said.

TVs, computers taken in burglary
Burglars kicked in the door of a home in the 100 block of Meadow Circle between 7:20 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Wednesday and stole television sets and laptop computers valued at $4,500, Athens-Clarke police said.

Scooter wheeled off from in-town carport
A thief drove off with a motor scooter valued at $5,000 from the carport of a home in the 800 block of Hill Street between 1 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. Thursday, Athens-Clarke police said.

Thieves break into intown doughnut shop
Burglars pried open the back door of Dunkin Donuts, 771 Prince Ave., between 3:15 and 4:15 a.m. Thursday and stole a computer, cash and video system with a total value of more than $1,000, Athens-Clarke police said.

Early trick played on Halloween trailer
Thieves drove off with a 45-foot trailer valued at $2,500 from behind a business at 10 Huntington Road between 11 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Wednesday, Athens-Clarke police said.

Student's car entered, valuables taken
Thieves broke into a University of Georgia student's car in the 1000 block of Lakeside Drive between 9 and 10 a.m. Wednesday and stole purses, a camera, laptop computer, and debit card with a total value of $1,660, Athens-Clarke police said.

Broun to address students, Kiwanians
He won't debate Democrat Bobby Saxon in Athens, but U.S. Rep. Paul Broun will talk to College Republicans, political science students and Kiwanians on Wednesday.

Palin abused power in trooper case, Alaska panel finds
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

Feds question Georgia voter checks
ATLANTA - The U.S. Department of Justice is questioning some 2 million requests it says were made by Georgia government officials since last fall to check the Social Security numbers of newly registered voters, far more than any other state.

Candidates face rowdy crowd
PERRY - A rowdy crowd of 300 cheered, jeered and often drowned out the candidates in the first U.S. Senate debate of the general election at the Georgia fairgrounds Thursday night.

Three-peat denied: Bulldogs ground up Tennessee
After two years of Rocky Flops against Tennessee, Georgia finally came out on top again st the Volunteers. Getting its groove back - sort of - after its 11-game winning streak was snapped two weeks ago - the No. 10 Bulldogs added to Tennessee’s misery this season by claiming a 26-14 victory Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

Young QB ready for first challenge
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Nick Stephens passed his first pop quiz for the Tennessee Volunteers against Northern Illinois. On Saturday, he takes his first major exam as Tennessee heads to Sanford Stadium to play Georgia.

Notebook: Richt gets strict on penalties
Georgia coach Mark Richt had been reluctant to drop the hammer on penalties. But the first half against Alabama changed his mind by 180 degrees. Now the entire team could pay for one player's infraction.

Massaquoi bounces back in big way
The crowd of trainers gathered around Mohamed Massquoi on Saturday might have been expecting the worst.
But within a matter of minutes, the Georgia senior went from being a recipient of concern and sympathy to the player responsible for possibly the most important touchdown in the Bulldogs’ 26-14 win over Tennessee at Sanford Stadium.

Red zone efficiency suffers
No. 10 Georgia came into Saturday’s Southeastern Conference match-up with Tennessee as a model of efficiency in the red zone.

Charges against football players dismissed
Charges of misdemeanor battery against Georgia offensive linemen Trinton Sturdivant and Justin Anderson were dismissed in Clarke County State Court on Friday, according to their attorney, Mark Wiggins.

Magill: Richt holds slight edge against Fulmer in career
Georgia's Mark Richt holds a slight advantage over Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer in the two coaches' history. Richt leads Fulmer, 4-3 in their seven-game coaching rivalry, but Fulmer's Vols have won the last two games by lopsided scores: 35-14 in Knoxville and 51-33 in Athens in 2006.

Ching: Familiar feeling surrounds game
Doesn't it seem like we've been here before? There was little buzz surrounding the game last season before Georgia visited Tennessee, a program that seemed to be circling the drain and whose coach, Phil Fulmer, was rumored to be on the outs after a run of uninspiring play by his Volunteers.

Quick Snap: Tennessee vs. Georgia
A quick look at probable starting lineups, broadcast information and other quick facts about today's Tennessee-Georgia game between the hedges.

Gameday: Tennessee vs. Georgia
Everything you need to know about today's herculean divergence pitting the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs between the hedges at Sanford Stadium.

Senior receiver returns to mix
When No. 10 Georgia played at South Carolina in September, senior receiver Kenneth Harris found himself in an unfamiliar spot - watching the game at home on TV.

Smith: Bulldogs can still rise to occasion
Peak performance is not something that you can order up like a hamburger at The Varsity. Obviously, Georgia did not play a peak game against Alabama, a team on the rise.

Scoring drought hitting Vols hard
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Putting points on the board has hardly ever been a problem for Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee. But the Volunteers have endured a scoring drought similar to the lack of rain in the lower Appalachians.

Fast Facts: Tennessee vs. Georgia
Kiante Tripp is Georgia's backup tight end today. The redshirt sophomore was a starter at left tackle to begin the season and was a defensive end before moving in the 2007 preseason. He's wearing No. 83 today after previously donning 47, 64, 75, 92 and 94.

Caithness third at Amateur
Adelaide, Australia - Krystle Caithness, a sophomore on the Georgia women's golf team, fired a 2-under 71 in Friday's third round of the 2008 World Amateur Team Golf Championships, ascending from sixth to third on the individual leaderboard.

Cydney Wells, William Dix: Lesson in torched Obama sign
A letter from my husband and me, "Vandalizing political signs is un-American," was published Sept. 14 in the Banner-Herald. As we indicated then, the vandalizing of our sign did not appear to be isolated, because friends told us they had the same problem.

David Barclay: All the change we can stand
George Bush has been president for more than seven years. For the first six of those years, the economy was fine. A little more than one year ago, consumer confidence was at a 2.5-year high, regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon, the unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high above 14,000. Americans were buying new cars, taking cruises, vacationing overseas and generally living large.

Jonathan Harris: Don't re-elect Republicans
Are you fiscally conservative? If so, wake up and dump the Republicans this election. All they do is point a finger and say "tax and spend" at the other party. Kids blame each other for bad smells, too, and never want to 'fess up, but our leaders need to grow up. It's no secret who "cut it."

Nurvin Flowers: Obama has best prospects
I feel that either John McCain or Barack Obama would be good as president of the United States. Both love this country and have dedicated their lives to public service.

Bob Bowen: Obama needs refresher in math
As I watched the recent presidential debate, I realized Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama probably received his early schooling at about the same time as my younger children. This likely means he was exposed to Roberts English and "new math," educational experiments that were a total failure.

Tom Beusse: Obama won't deliver on tax cuts
A previous Democratic presidential candidate received many votes by promising a middle-class tax cut. But Bill Clinton's inaugural address had not finished echoing around Capitol Hill when he announced that the economy was too bad for him to fulfill his promise.

Carolyn Clark: Opposition to Obama gets scary
Republican presidential contender John McCain once said, "Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads, you don't have much of a vision for the future or you're not ready to articulate it."

Eddie L. Whitlock: Learn about mental health
Mental Illness Awareness week continues through Saturday, and mental health professionals are asking people to take a little time this week to address their own mental health and learn more about mental illness.

Rossiter: Flu shots needed in Whyville
Do you want a flu shot? It's the simple question most doctors and health pros ask every year, right about now. And every year my answer is standard, automatic, without much deliberation, and probably pretty stupid.

Ring show held surprises
Tino Johnson wasn't the only suitor who thought the ring exhibit at the Georgia Museum of Art would make the perfect setting for a proposal.

Jones: God listens in times of need
American troops continue to engage in war in Iraq and Afghanistan. At home, political uncertainty surrounds us as we continue to hear the babble and noise that the election process has become. And no longer are the financial markets the bastion of security and confidence they were in recent years; the bear has replaced the bull and what was once a lion's roar has been reduced to a mouse's squeal. Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and droughts have been leading the headlines in recent months.

Incatepec playing with church choir
It started in 2005 when Humberto Mendoza and his brother Noe played the opening ceremony for the Pinewood Library and Learning Center in the largely Hispanic Pinewood Estates mobile home park.

Photographer Fiscus to offer talk at GMOA on Monday
Athens-based photographer Jim Fiscus will be offering a talk at the Georgia Museum of Art at 6 p.m. Monday. Fiscus' amazing images pull you into a hyper-real world. It's easy to see why his client list includes the likes of Nike, Adidas, Delta, ESPN, Coca-Cola, HBO, Guinness and more.

Today's Best Bets
Athens Farmers Market - Support locally grown food and local crafts by doing your weekly shopping at the market.

Mini movie reviews
OPENING TODAY: Appaloosa - Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen are both on the right side of the law this time, but the chemistry they shared as adversaries in 2005's "A History of Violence" remains.

Today's Best Bets
Local rock band The Empties plays an infectious mix of pop and garage rock.

Feds to buy into banks as stocks tank
WASHINGTON - The government will buy an ownership stake in a broad array of American banks for the first time since the Great Depression, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said late Friday, announcing the historic step after stock markets jolted still lower around the world despite all efforts to slow the selling stampede.

Dow sinks even lower
NEW YORK - A runaway train of a sell-off turned the anniversary of the stock market peak into one of the worst days in Wall Street history Thursday, driving the Dow Jones industrials down a breathtaking 679 points and deepening a financial crisis that has defied all efforts to stop it.

Palin abused power in trooper case, Alaska panel finds
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

Oil prices plummet below $85 a barrel
NEW YORK - Oil prices closed at their lowest level in a year Thursday, falling below $85 a barrel even after OPEC signaled it may try to slow crude's downward spiral by cutting production.

Connecticut court approves gay marriage
HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.

New AIG loan renews concerns over insurer
NEW YORK - Concerns about the health of American International Group Inc. were renewed Thursday, a day after the insurance giant said it would receive an additional $37.8 billion loan from the Federal Reserve.

Ex-Finnish leader Nobel peace winner
OSLO, Norway - Finland's ex-president Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to build a lasting peace from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

North Korea makes threatening moves
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea warned South Korea against provoking war on Thursday as it reportedly deployed an arsenal of missiles near their sea border and told U.N. inspectors it plans to restart its nuclear facility.

Deputy felt road safety his mission
Law enforcement officers and residents in and around Oconee County on Friday mourned the loss of a dedicated sheriff's deputy killed this week in the line of duty.

Deputy hit by car dies
WATKINSVILLE - An Oconee County sheriff's deputy died late Thursday after a car struck him as he directed morning traffic outside Oconee County Primary School.

Monumental tour for WW II veterans
More than six decades have slipped away since Marvin Van Vleck returned from his final tour in the war-torn Pacific during World War II, but the 92-year-old veteran of three wars has never seen a hero's welcome like the one he got this week in Washington.

Student hearing slated in knife incident
Clarke County School District officials have scheduled a Wednesday disciplinary hearing for the 10-year-old Fowler Drive Elementary School student accused of trying to stab a 9-year-old on Monday.

As Vols wilt, will crowd?
Police and event managers aren't sure what to expect from today's football game in Athens between the universities of Tennessee and Georgia.

Tests rule out drugs as factor in child's death
Jackson County foster mother Wendy Osborne was not under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol when she left her 9-month-old foster daughter sitting in a hot car for more than two hours last month, according to recently completed toxicology tests.

Board approves profile for superintendent
A consultant will search for a superintendent for the Clarke County School District by following a leadership profile and draft advertisement the Clarke County Board of Education approved this week.

ABH Correction
A calendar item published Thursday on Page C4 in the Athens Banner-Herald “What’s Happening” column gave the incorrect date for an event.

Judge to weigh bond in hit-and-run case
A 15-year-old boy accused of vehicular homicide in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian on Commerce Road in June will appear before a Clarke County Superior Court judge today to ask for bond.

Deaths in the news: Dr. George Palade
SAN DIEGO - Dr. George Palade, who won a Nobel Prize in 1974 for his work isolating and identifying cell structure and helped create one of the leading cell biology programs in the nation at the University of California, San Diego, has died. He was 95.

Tant: War will await new White House occupant
"We don't throw the first punch, but we'll throw the last," said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama just days before Tuesday night's sometimes contentious debate with GOP challenger John McCain in Nashville, Tenn. Punches are flying hard and fast from both candidates as the race for the White House nears the finish line.

Unsolved crime bill could give America closure
Almost lost amid the more immediate issues of the day - the ongoing financial woes of this country and the rest of the world, and the upcoming presidential election, to name just two - was a bit of good news that came out of Washington earlier this week.

Bill will stop bleeding, but economy needs more fixes
The current financial crisis poses the biggest threat to our economy since the Great Depression. Although it took a couple of bites at the apple, Congress finally passed a significant plan to prevent an immediate collapse, restore confidence and get credit flowing again to consumers and businesses.

Yarbrough: Grieving, but getting better
After the unexpected death of my beloved grandson Zack Wansley, I wasn't sure I wanted to do this anymore. Twitting inept politicians, know-it-all media, smug entertainers, greedy CEOs and the terminally humorless seemed absurdly irrelevant. Then I began to hear from friends and strangers telling me they missed my column. Several told me Zack would not want me to be a quitter. My son, Ken, put it most succinctly. "Dad," he said, "it is time to get back on the horse." So here I am. Back in the saddle, but still a little shaky.

Win would move Eagles closer to playoff appearance
In search of validation, Athens Christian wide receiver/safety Forrest Shealy said that a win tonight over Commerce - which, by its own lofty standards, is having a down year - would be the program's defining moment.

Indians' run too strong for Warriors
TOCCOA - The name of Stephens County's tailback might as well have been a conjugation of the verb "to run" in Friday's clash between Stephens County and Oconee County.

Big, colorful flowers aren't that hard to grow
If you're a first time homeowner, listen up. If you think you can't grow fabulous flowers, read on. If past failures have made you throw your hands up and retreat from gardening in general, get ready to rumble. There's a secret to great big bold flowers.

Stroud up by two in Texas
SAN ANTONIO - Former Lamar University star Chris Stroud moved into position to make a big jump on the PGA Tour money list, shooting a 6-under 64 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Texas Open.

Thrashers win opener, 7-4
ATLANTA - Bryan Little had two goals, including the go-ahead score in the third period, and the Atlanta Thrashers beat the Washington Capitals 7-4 on Friday night.